The Domain Formula demonstrated that newsletters could produce significant revenue as well as good will. Key features of the formula include:

Page count: no more than 4 pages (in tests, adding more pages did not produce more revenue)

Article length: short

Write for skimmers (i.e., requires professional quality headlines)

Send in a #10 envelope, not as a self-mailer

Include a separate reply device

Don’t get distracted: be fully donor-committed. Send only to your donors. You have to talk to a single target audience

Make the voice personal (the word “you” dominates) rather than institutional; get intimate

Focus on “accomplishment reporting” (tell donors how much they have changed the world through their gifts)

Design

I didn’t get too hung up on this. Truth be told, I used a canned layout in Publisher. I changed the colors to match the organization’s, added a logo, and got on to the important stuff. It wasn’t particularly well-designed. But it was very effective.

If you’re particularly good at design and have the time, go for it. But otherwise, don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good.

Create the template for a tabloid-size piece of paper. That’s an 11 x 17 sheet. (You know, that drawer on the very bottom of your office copier?)

When it’s printed on both sides, you’ll fold it in half, and then in thirds. It will fit nicely in a #10 envelope.

Find the best images

While the calendar may drive some story ideas, I start with pictures. What great shots do I have that might tell a story of my donor’s impact? I look for a story right in the picture. I also look for (as Tom puts it) “eyes and teeth” – that is, someone smiling right into the camera. We can’t help it – we’re hardwired to look at that!

I look for a story right in the picture. I also look for (as Tom puts it) “eyes and teeth” – that is, someone smiling right into the camera. We can’t help it – we’re hardwired to look at that!

(Oh and please? NO big check pictures. And while I’m at it – no “letters from the Executive Director”. Sorry, but no one wants to read that.)

Once I find pictures, I start fitting them into the template. My newsletters generally have one or two stories on the front page, 4 or 5 inside, and another couple on the back.

Write the headlines

This is so important!

As much time as you may spend on writing each article, this headline may be all they skim. So make it very easy to skim! Use action verbs. Get “you” in there. And keep it short. Use a subhead if you need to explain a little more. But ideally, your donor will get the idea just from your headline.

Write the picture captions

This is the other item your donor is likely to look at – especially if the picture is a grabber.

Make it good. But not just descriptive! This is your chance to get your message across. It could also be a great opportunity for a call to action. It’s a powerful piece of the newsletter’s real estate. Use your power for good.

THEN write the articles

Keep this active and easy to read, too. You’ll find, after great pictures, captions, and headlines, that you don’t actually have much room. But that’s good. It forces you to be concise. Make every word count!

Here’s what I found

When I decided to create a donor newsletter, I did three newsletters a year. (At the end of the year I sent a thank-you mailing, instead).

Well, I turn to Tom Ahern and Jeff Brooks for advice on this. (Tom’s got a new book on the topic – Making Money with Donor Newsletters – that I highly recommend).

Both types of newsletters have their place. But for fundraising, printed newsletters still win. Email for fundraising is not quite there yet. Which isn’t to say it won’t get there. Or that it doesn’t have it’s place in building donor relationships.

Tom recommends a minimum of 4 times a year – 3 at a bare minimum – for a print newsletter. And monthly email sounds right, too. Many organizations successfully mail monthly.

The real key is to make it about the donor, not the organization. It’s not so much bragging about the organization’s achievements as it is thanking donors for what they made possible and letting them know what else they can make possible with their gifts.

Let me know how you do with yours – I’d love to see it! Thanks, Jennifer.